Gauss
Gauss is the 8th planet in the Ciro system and a member of the Galilean planets. It is the smallest of the three gas giant planets that roam the outer solar system. Gauss has two moons, Loki and Catullus, and a sub-satellite, Tarsiss, which orbits Catullus. He also carries the theme of the court jester and the troll meme. He and Nero are the founding planets in Galileo's Planet Pack. Gauss is the smallest by radius of the three gas giants but is the most dense of them and has the greatest surface gravity. His periapsis is greater than the apoapsis of stock planet Eeloo, and his apoapsis and periapsis exceed those of Sarnus. In-game description "The least of the gas giants... Or is he? This particularly restless blue world is home to more than one superstorm and regularly exercises immense electromagnetic powers of RUD! Beware for all is not as it seems in Gauss' SOI." - Deep Sky Press Physical Characteristics Gauss is the third largest planet, having about four times Gael’s radius and 18 times Gael’s mass. If scaled up to life-sized proportions, Gauss would be comparable in size to the planets Uranus and Neptune. Gauss presumably also has a composition and structure similar to Uranus and Neptune, therefore it could be more aptly classified as an ice giant. Atmosphere Gauss’ atmosphere consists predominately of hydrogen (81%), with some helium (11%) and other gases. The datum that defines Gauss’ “surface” is the altitude at which the atmospheric pressure is 15 atmospheres. The top of Gauss’ atmosphere lies 400 km above the datum. Here the temperature averages -123°C. Descending through the atmosphere, the temperature decreases while the pressure rises exponentially. The temperature reaches a minimum of about -193°C at the 0.1 atm level (154 km altitude). Below this level the temperature steadily increases due to internal heating. At the 1 atm level (103 km) the temperature is -170°C. This increases to -64°C (209 K) at the datum. Gauss’ upper atmosphere experiences some small latitudinal, diurnal, and seasonal temperature variations. These variations are greatest at the upper boundary, where temperature can range by as much as 15°C. The temperature variations cease at altitudes below the 1 atm level. Gauss has one of the more turbulent atmospheres, with several storms regions identified in its biomes. Flight Performance To be added. Biomes Gauss has 7 natural biomes: * MagnetoKraken * Inductive Convergence Storms * Northern Superstorm * Southern Superstorm * Lesser Storms * North Pole * South Pole Gameplay Features * Gauss’ cloud bands have differential rotation, made possible by the optional plugin Stock Visual Enhancements. With this installed and some generous time warp the animation becomes very clear. * Any craft that descends to an altitude of -250 meters instantly implodes. * Gauss and Catullus together cause a handful of unprecedented phenomena in their local area. The gravity dance has effectively filtered any an all space resources into dense bands either between themselves or beyond Catullus. * Gauss is home to the "Shadow Fest" where given good timing it is possible to observe Gauss being eclipsed by all three of its moons. Trivia * In real life, the 1 bar (≈1 atm) pressure level is usually used to define the datum for gas planets. Flags Gauss has two associated flags. The first of which is its region flag, Max Gauss and Moons in Mischief, and the second is the Three Kings challenge flag, by which any vessel that wears it is bound exclusively to visit all of the gas planets and all of their moons. Entering other SOI except Gael's is prohibited. Category:Celestials Category:Planets